Total NaNo newbie here, and I've totally smashed through the 1/5 mark milestone.

To win with 50,000 words, I need to have 10,000 right now.
To win with 52,500 words, I need to have 10,500 right now.

At the end of Day Six, I have 11,044 words. I didn't think I could do it, but it's starting to look like I can and will!

I thought I'd share this article with a community who might like it:

How to Get Your Ideas Across to Clients

Does anyone else use these? Are they successful?

To Evenstar:

Stop hitting the cat with the mouse and just lie on him gently!

The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to xkcd_rss, icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!

c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.

Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!
( Read more... )

Your favorite cheftestants from seasons 1 – 5 are back to reunite and hash out some of Top Chef’s most heated moments!

Fabio Viviani from season five has invited contestants from his season and those in the past for what is supposed to be a convivial gathering of chefs cooking, eating and talking. Who are you looking forward to seeing?

Sorry folks, I have some kind of stomach bug. Back on track tomorrow, hopefully.

Heard on yesterday's Fresh Air: "nervous breakthrough." Terry was interviewing Mary Karr about her new memoir, which I think I may need to read, just because she was so interesting to listen to.

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/photos/top-chef-where-are-they-now-0

22 of the cheftestants from seasons past and what they are now doing.

Looks like there are still tickets available for Emilie Autumn this Friday.

The show is at Logan Square Auditorium, right near the Logan Square Blue Line stop. Tickets are general admission, so if anyone local wants to meet up for some over-the-top musical craziness on my big 4-0, let me know!

Sooper Sekrit P.S. to maiac: Keep forgetting to tell you - LOVE the ballcap! Thank you!

Episode 10.01 is now "airing" at the Virtual Gilmore website.

"Let's Go Fly a Kite" written by filo77 and lukecanwaltz88

Go on over to read it, then follow the link back to here to tell us what you think.

To be clear, this is such quick project in terms of turnaround, I let the kids write whatever they want. Our next creative writing assignment is a bit more demanding of originality… but I think there’s value in letting students dwell on the types of stories that they love and seeing HOW the types of stories they love from movies and video games fit with the stuff we’ve been learning in class (plot curve, characterization, etc.)

Turns out, eggs DO expire!  I had always been under the impression that eggs don't expire, and boy did I have that notion dismissed fully and clearly.

Last Saturday,coco_b mentioned that she would like to use some elderly bananas we had around for some banana bread.  So I whipped some up from a recipe we had gotten from our friend Audra.  I quickly dismissed the expiration date from some time in September on the egg crate and baked the bread.  Corinna ate quite a bit of it but I only had one slice.  A few hours later I started feeling ill, and an hour after that I started experiencing a very sharp 10-15 second pain in my lower abdomen every 1-5 minutes.  This continued all night, completely eliminating any chances of sleep.  I had hoped that by morning this would pass and we could stick to our plans of meeting up withtjulian at Six Flags.

I "woke" up feeling just as terrible as I had the night before, so Corinna called Tom and told him we wouldn't be meeting him.  I sat around the house in pain all day, pretty miserable.  Tom came to stay at our place after he spent the day at the park, and we just chatted it up for a few hours before bedtime.  He half-joked that he could take me to the hospital in the morning if I needed it.  After another painful, sleepless night, I almost took him up on his offer..   I called my GP who was unavailable, and decided to go to the ER.  It occurred to me that if he drove me to the hospital it would completely eradicate any chance he would have visit Boston during the day.  So I called a cab at 8am and went to the ER, and Corinna met me there around noon.  After lots of waiting, some X-Rays and CT Scans, and continuing pain, it was determined that I had an inflammation of my ileum.  The ER doctor speculated that it might be Crohn's disease or IBS, but he deferred to the GI doctor I'd be seeing once After a full day in the emergency room, much of it on a stretcher in a hall, I was admitted in the late evening.

I went up to the 7th floor and put in a room, and like my stay a year or two prior for my appendicitis, I had a beautiful view of the Charles river.  It took awhile for a doctor to come and see me, and a bit longer for the nurse to finally bring something for my pain. Each individual spike of pain probably ranked 6 out of 10, but after feeling it every few minutes for 2+ sleepless days, it was really starting to break me down. The GI doctor I talked to said that he thought I was probably suffering a bacterial or viral infection, likely caused by bad food. He said he had no reason to suspect Crohn's or IBS given my history (or lack thereof).  He said they would run some tests and keep me overnight.  He also put me on a clear liquid diet, which meant I was able to eat for the first time in 2 days (even if it was broth and jello). 

I woke up feeling better, and more importantly, pain-free, and after lunch they advanced my diet to BRAT (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast) before discharging me.  Well, the pain returned after a few hours and they kept me another night.  Fortunately, I woke up without pain again (although still tender) and they once again advanced my diet to BRAT at lunch, and this time I tolerated it just fine. The doctors determined that I had a viral infection of my Ileum, and that it likely came from food, although they said it was also possible it had come through one of your usual viral vectors (handshakes, etc).  It would take a few days to clear up and some continued pain was to be expected while it did.  Finally after 2.5 days in the hospital, I went home with Corinna on Wednesday evening. 

When I was first discharged I thought there was no way I was going to make the yearly Halloween Party up near Ithaca.  But after feeling solid on Thursday and waking up and feeling pretty well on Friday, we decided to give it a shot.  And I'm glad I did..  While it was odd not really being able to eat or drink anything at the party (We brought ginger ale and chicken soup for me), it was fantastic getting to see all my friends.  I even did an epic live edition of my radio show/podcast featuring live music.

Back to work today and slowly advancing my diet to normal food...  Still not quite feeling 100%, but getting close.   This would have been much more awful and difficult if not for Corinna. 

I'm going to start solely posting some content over on my WordPress account; I feel like the URL is easier for folks to find, so I'd like to get my numbers up there... although I have to say, I'm pretty darn pleased with them as of now.

Anyway, click here if you'd like to see some of my chalkboard photo posts for this past week.

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/2009/11/sunday-secrets.html

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people
mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.




















See more secrets. Follow PostSecret on Twitter.


















-----Email Message-----
I'm studying Hindi, so that when I meet your parents, I can tell them I love you.















The new book is available from bookstores and online.

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/2007/02/wwwhopelinecom.html

-----Email Message-----
Subject: thank you

Frank,

This past Friday night I found myself in a black hole of depression and I didn't know how I was going to make it through the night. Not knowing where to turn and feeling like I couldn't stop. I remembered seeing the Hopeline phone number in the front of your book. I talked with someone there for 2 and a half hours and I truly feel that they saved my life.

Thank you for the book, thank Hopeline for being there, and thank the people that send in their postcards so that others know they are not alone with their secrets.


-Casie (with permission)





Order Your Copy Today



-----Email Message-----
(posted with permission)

Good evening Frank,

I sent you a post card in 2006. I made it on a picture. I liked it a lot. And I guess, so did you, because you posted it that fallowing Sunday. I was excited and happy, until I noticed that YOU HAD CUT OFF HALF OF MY SECRET. Then my excitement and happiness turned into violation and anger... I was so pissed! I didn't know why you had done that! I felt like you had taken my secret, and changed it... and then shown the whole world. I realize now, that you had CUT OFF MY SECRET because it wasn't the 'correct size' of a post card. Which STILL pisses me off, because I have seen a lot of post cards that you have posted, that isn't the "shape" of a fucking post card. But you don't change their wording, or edit them... (or maybe you do.)

Frankly, Frank... I have never, and probably will never sent you another post card again. Because it doesn't feel safe. Because what if you're going to change and alter that one, too? Now I doubt the post cards I see.... if you altered and edited mine, how would I know that you didn't just do the same thing, to some other poor girl, pouring her heart out on a dark night?

Final Kicker: That post card i sent was god themed. It said "Maybe I'll start believeing in G-d..." (and THE PART YOU FUCKING CUT OFF WOULD OF SAID "...Now that I am slowly loosing everything, there seems no better time") I bought your new book... Maybe because I wanted another PS book, or maybe because I was still holding out that I might see my old secret, properly displayed in whole... alas, I was left disappointed that my secret was no where to be found. Anywhere.

So... why am I writing you, 3 years later about a post card you don't remember? I'm not sure. I've started and deleted this same email to you so many times, over the last 3 years. I feel stupid for being this upset over something so silly. That's why I've deleted the past emails...Part of me feels like you deserve to know that you have hurt the feelings of one of your (long time) viewers. I still like Post Secret, I still support you, and I still tell others about this project, but you did take some fire out of my passion. And you did hurt my feelings, and I don't feel safe sharing my secrets with you any more.

But this time Frank, I might just hit the send button...


-----Email Message-----

On this week's post secret there is a picture of a girl with nipple peircings. The strange thing is, that girl looks just like me.. I have straight red hair that color and I am pale and thin just the same. I could send you a picture of myself if you do not understand why I am so upset. Please take it off!!

Five things that always make me laugh

5. The Late Night with Conan O'Brian talk show segment where he interviews Melrose Place alum Courtney Thorne Smith. Norm MacDonald was the first guest of the episode, and he spends most of the interview with Smith interrupting, slyly making fun of her, and generally being fucking hilarious.


Norm MacDonald, in general is pretty amazing.

4. This exchange from The Simpsons episode "Marge vs. the Monorail, when Homer is trapped on an out of control monorail and Marge brings help:

Marge: Homer, there's a man here who thinks he can help you.
Homer: Batman?
Marge: No, he's a scientist.
Homer: Batman's a scientist.
Marge: It's NOT Batman!

3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

2. The Calvin & Hobbes story where Calvin tries to fix the drippy faucet and ends up flooding his upstairs bathroom. Specifically, the comic where he nonchalantly starts looking for buckets while singing to himself. Kills me every time. I remember the first time I read it; I was like nine years old and my parents taken us out to eat at The Ground Round.

1. Without fail, the bloopers on the second season DVD of The Office. Specifically, where Ricky Gervias bites his lower lip and points to his groin. "Who knows? In a few years, keep your head down... you'll be in the hot seat." I'm embedding that gem right here; I don't know if you'll get a lot out of it if you haven't watched the UK Office... but then again, if you haven't watched the UK Office, there's something deficient in your television consumption habits and you really need to rectify the situation immediately. Consider this a firm kick in the ass.


Comic Collection Recently Traded for on Swaptree

Spider-Man Legends: Todd MacFarlane, Volume 2
I was a big fan of MacFarlane's Spider-Man as a kid; it took the bold step of presenting a stylized to the extreme Spider-Man at a time when everything I was looking at in superhero comics felt very flat. Considering how fun and crazy superheroes can be, there were a lot of bland, bland, bland artists drawing comics when I was growing up. That's not to say there aren't really awful pages in here... you can find half-baked layouts all over the place. There's one with Peter Parker talking to Aunt May on the phone that made my head hurt when I saw it. Still, the team on this book really did capture something visceral here. In general, comic art on genre books seems better to me now than it did 15 years ago... but it's also a hell of a lot less exciting.

I also can't help but think that the glossy paper used in this collection really hurts the artwork. Maybe this is just a personal preference.

Green Lantern Corps: Recharge
I was a reader of Green Lantern during the Kyle Rayner years, so I'm pretty unfamiliar with the Green Lantern Corps beyond its basic concept. I thought I might be into this collection as it has the Corps but also includes my GL of choice as a main character. As it turns out, while GLC is a quality book with a couple of fun visuals and concepts, it's just not for me. I find it wonderfully strange how hugely the current incarnation of Green Lantern depends on the eighteen or so pages of the character that Alan Moore wrote in the Eighties. One of the "heavies" in this trade is the bounty hunter from "Mogo Doesn't Socialize." He's hardly a fan favorite... but I guess the Moore connection means something.

Essential Tomb of Dracula V.1
I really really loved this collection. I think Marvel did something interesting with its monster comics in the 1970's in that they took the trouble to make the monsters into characters. In most of the monster comics I've seen previous to these books, the monsters are usually just mindless motivators of plot... but Marvel actually seemed to go through the trouble of giving them a reason for being. I'm looking forward to hunting down the rest of the Tomb of Dracula books and possible the Frankenstein comics as well.

The Joker
I have to hand it to DC- they seem to have some really bone-headed notions when it comes to their trades and hardcover collections, but I think it was pretty smart that they had The Joker out in bookstores right around the time that The Dark Knight was burning through movie theaters a few years ago. You could make the case for this being a sequel to the movie in its realistic portrayal of the Batman rogues gallery. I really loved the book.

........

In what has to be one of the lamer "controversies" in recent months, some fans of comedian Chris Farley are up in arms about this new DirecTV ad that recreates a scene from Farley's hit movie Tommy Boy with inserting newly filmed reaction shots of David Spade to Tommy's "fat guy in a little coat" scene. I guess people are saying that it's disrespectful to the guy to reappropriate his image in such a way after his tragic death. I wish I could say I'm of two minds about this because I'm not a huge fan of either the idea of re-animating dead celebrities to shill in commercials OR the DirecTV ads (which I just find to be lame) but COME ON!

I don't know Chris Farley beyond his body of work and the things I've read about him in articles and books about Saturday Night Live, but man oh man, I'm guessing that he wouldn't have a problem in the world with being the center of attention again, over ten years after this death. To say nothing of the fact that this is the type of guy who (if Tom Shales' tell-all Live from New York is to be believed) would take a dump on a windowsill for a laugh... I doubt he'd be concerned with anything so "disrespectful" as a thirty-second commercial reliving his best movie.

Luckily, his co-actor in the scene and his family came out and said they were A-OK with the spot quickly after the tempest in a teapot erupted online.

With beginning school in August and only starting to post strips in September, the comic won’t reflect Halloween for a few weeks… but I didn’t want to let the holiday pass by without posting this great drawing that S, one of my students, did in his notebook. I really dig it.



I love all the little details that he threw in!